Piita Irniq facts for kids

Piita Taqtu Irniq, also known as Peter Irniq, was born on February 1, 1947. He is an Inuk leader and a teacher of Inuit culture. He served as the second commissioner of Nunavut from April 2000 to April 2005. Piita Irniq has lived in many places across Nunavut's Kivalliq Region, including Naujaat, Coral Harbour, Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet, Rankin Inlet, and Iqaluit. He has also lived in the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, and Ontario.

Early Life and Education

An Inuksuk built by Piita Irniq for an exhibition at The Field Museum.

Piita Irniq was born in Lyon Inlet, near what is now Naujaat, Nunavut. In 1958, he was sent to an Indian Residential School in Chesterfield Inlet. Later, from 1963 to 1964, he attended the Sir John Franklin School in Yellowknife.

Political Career and Leadership

Early Roles in Government

From 1974 to 1975, Irniq worked as an executive assistant for the assistant commissioner of the Northwest Territories. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in 1975. He represented the Keewatin area for four years.

After that, from 1979 to 1981, he became the first Inuk to be an assistant regional director. This role was in the former Keewatin Region, which is now the Kivalliq Region.

Promoting Inuit Culture and Employment

As a superintendent of renewable resources, Piita Irniq was the first Inuk to hold this important job. He worked hard to encourage more Inuit people to be hired in his department. In 1982, he was chosen as the first Speaker of the Keewatin Council, a position he held until 1983.

He was also elected president of the Keewatin Inuit Association. He served in this role for five years, helping to lead the Inuit community.

Return to the Legislature

Irniq was re-elected to the Northwest Territories Legislature in 1987. He represented the Aivilik area. His main goal was to help Inuit people get more involved in jobs, education, and business. He ran for election again in 1991 but was not successful.

Cultural and Communications Work

In 1992, Piita Irniq became the executive director of the Inuit Cultural Institute. A year later, he worked as the director of communications for Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. This organization helps protect Inuit rights and interests.

He was also a member of the Nunavut Implementation Commission. In this role, he spoke about Nunavut across Canada and in other countries. He also worked to help former students of residential schools.

Developing Nunavut's Culture and Language

From 1997 to 1998, Irniq worked for the Government of the Northwest Territories. He helped create cultural and heritage programs for the new territory of Nunavut. From 1998 to 1999, he became the deputy minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth. His main job was to protect traditional Inuit culture and language.

In August 1999, he helped set up offices for official languages and other important services for the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.

Later Contributions and Recognition

Piita Irniq writes a column about Inuit perspectives for the Nunavut News/North newspaper. In 2003, he was honored as a Commander of the Order of St. John. In 2005, he joined the board of directors for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.

More recently, he was a key advisor for the National Film Board of Canada project called Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories. This project helps share Inuit stories with others.

Arms

Arms of Piita Irniq

Notes The arms of Piita Irniq are shown on a round shape, not the usual shield shape. They include: Crest A half-man from the Inuit culture holding a drum and drumstick. Escutcheon A blue shield with an inuksuk, and a golden Inuit drum and drumstick in the top right corner. Supporters On the right, a muskox standing on a snow bank. On the left, a ringed seal coming out of blue and white wavy lines. Motto "Let us move forward”, is stated in Inuinnaqtun and Inuktitut

See also

• Notable Aboriginal people of Canada